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Union Pacific Railroad intends to restart freight operations near the heavily damaged Centennial Mills building, which officials have warned could trigger the collapse of the building.
Since a fire ripped through the century-old flour warehouse Aug. 2, the city has enforced a cordoned-off collapse zone 150 feet in each direction. Building owner Stuart Lindquist has until Aug. 14 to begin the demolition process.
But on Monday, city officials briefed reporters on Union Pacific’s plans to restart running trains on a narrow rail corridor that passes the now-hazardous eight-story structure.
UP, the nation’s largest railroad in revenue, planned to run its first train within the hour.
“Please don’t go near it,” said City Councilor Olivia Clark, who was joined at the news briefing by fellow District 4 Councilors Eric Zimmerman and Mitch Green. “It’s a temptation, but please don’t do it. Let the professionals take care of the situation.”
UP Portland-area business manager Aaron Hunt did not return multiple messages seeking comment.
The city has limited authority to stop the trains, according to Portland City Administrator Raymond C. Lee III. “What we can voice to Union Pacific is our concerns as it relates to the impact it would have on the actual site itself and the community as a whole,” he says.
Lee said resources are now in place for the event the building collapses.
Portland Fire Chief Lauren Johnson told reporters UP has toured and assessed the site and the city has been in contact with the railroad. But it has not yet received written responses to requests for hazard mitigation plans.
She repeated the call for curious Portlanders to stay away.
“What we would tell Union Pacific is…be a partner with us. Work with us on this situation. I know this is constraining to their operations, but our first responsibility is public safety and ensuring that the community, the individuals that we have working on this site, are safe and secure.”
Around 4 pm Aug. 2, a fire gutted the century-old, eight-story building, collapsing the interior timber floors and leaving a hulking shell officials warn could fall at any moment. Authorities have cordoned off Northwest Naito Parkway from 9th to 15th avenues.
On Friday, Portland Fire & Rescue announced police dogs had detected possible human remains in the building.
Along with BNSF, Union Pacific is one of two railroads that use the corridor near the building for freight rail.
Amtrak—which typically runs 16 trains per day past the site—continues to bus passengers between Portland and Seattle, officials said Monday.
UP—which has operated in Portland since the 1800s—has lately rankled Portland officials with intermodal freight trains stretching 3 miles long that regularly tie up traffic on the Central Eastside for hours at a time. The railroad is now attempting to merge with smaller Norfolk Southern in a move that’s expected to worsen train congestion in Portland by 22%, according to UP’s merger plan on file with the Surface Transportation Board.
With federal authorities now weighing the merger, Portland leaders, including Councilor Steve Novick, have said the city should press hard to get UP to mitigate its impact here.
